NHL Daily Fantasy Gems for February 18th

If you’re on FanDuel, each day we help uncover the gems in daily fantasy hockey when there is a full slate of games. Last night was a win with the Islanders line stack and Nick Backstom, at current value the Islanders top 3 are good as gold right now. The Philadelphia Flyers are a mess right now, the top guys are too expensive and lack consistency.

Wednesday has decent slate with 12 teams in action and some great rivalry games, including an Original 6 game between the Red Wings and Blackhawks. Without further ado, here are a couple line stacks and hidden gems for the six games on the February 18th.

Line stacksI'm a big fan of stacking lines in NHL daily fantasy, not nesessarily for all 6 forward spots, but I definitely try to be strategic in pairing at least two forwards on the same line, and same power play unit. The two line stacks that I'm looking at for tonight:

Boston Bruins (Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand - $11,900 combined) - If you've been taking guys against the Oilers all season, you're rarely let down. Boston is a tough one because their lines have been shuffled and don't match up perfectly with their 1st and 2nd unit power plays. Marchand and Bergeron both play on the second line, but opposite power play units. That said, you still get regular strength and special teams exposure to the Oilers who might be starting their 3rd string goalie.

Montreal Canadiens (Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais, Dale Weise - $17,900 combined) - Ottawa is looking to AHL goalie Andrew Hammond to make his first ever NHL start. He wasn't exactly lighting it up in the AHL, with a 3.51 GAA and 7-13-2 record. I predict at least 3 goals from the Canadiens, with some serious blowout potential. Dale Weise doesn't see the power play time that the other two do, he would be my least confident of the bunch...you might consider dropping him and paying up for PK Subban.

Hidden and not-so Hidden GemsSometimes stacking two sets of lines isn't possible because of salary ramifications, and you're forced to just take a partial line stack. Looking for a value guy to fill out your lineup, here are a couple that might be good plug-ins for tonight:

Dustin Tokarski - G ($6,600) - this Montreal backup is the biggest favorite to win tonight, although he is averaging 3.5 goals against in his last 4 starts. Tread lightly, you should get the win, but it might come with a few more goals than you'd like.

Jordan Eberle - RW ($5,800) - rumor has it that Eberle could be on the move to the Bruins, could be a showcase game if he wants out of town. That aside, he has 6 points in his last 5 games and is sure to get 20+ minutes of ice time.

Sean Monahan - C ($3,600) - this guy has been one of my favorite punts of the season. He's had his slumps, but gets solid 2nd line and power play time. 11.6 FD points in his last two games, what's not to like at this price if you need a filler?

Any top player from the the Red Wings/Blackhawks game - this should be a tight game, and there's a lot of expensive guys too. I'd be more apt to cherry pick a guy from this game rather than blowing the budget on a line stack. The 'hawks are favored, so I'd lean to Kane, Hossa, or Saad

There you have it folks, hopefully these hidden gems help fill out your daily fantasy hockey lineup for February 18th. If you need more help, check out our fantasy PPG grid page. Good luck tonight!

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